Giggs the Enigma, PFA Awards Sentiment

Since the announcement a week ago that Ryan Giggs has been recently crowned footballer of the year, we've heard ad nauseam that whilst he may not have deserved it this year he certainly should have gotten it in the past.

Memory is a funny thing, it lies to us, it abuses our imagination and it tells us half truths. Anyone who has watched Manchester United consistently over the last 18 years will tell you, the reason why Giggs has never won it is because he has never deserved it.

Ryan Giggs is capable of moments of sheer brilliance, a mercurial footballer with sublime talent but he also possessed a negative trait in abundance and that's inconsistency. If you study the Welsh wizard's career closely its not as squeaky clean as your memory might suggest.

In fact, it was widely believed that United where ready to offload Giggs in 2001 had they have been successful in their pursuit of Santiago Solari. Many United fans will tell you, Giggs produces when he's something to prove, something United aren't oblivious to either hence the one year contracts.

I can think of many moments of Giggs' anonymity, conspicuous purely because the man possessed such superlative ability that made it all the more frustrating. To sum it up, Giggs is capable of pure genius but not capable of the consistency that should be required to win Footballer of the year.

Now before people jump to the conclusion that this article is a pop at Ryan Giggs, it isn't. It's merely illustrating that the Welsh Wizard has for me, never fully lived up to his potential.

I remember when he made his debut, i thought United had unearthed a genius, a Lionel Messi of his time. As the years transpired and the hamstring injuries piled up, the winger's star dimmed ever so slightly. As he nears the end of his career he can of course console himself with the fact that he's won more trophies than City have won in their history and pride himself on his impeccable conduct that is so bereft in modern sports.

Without a doubt, a United great—but also without a doubt, an emphatic enigma.